Meet the celebrity stylist behind Lizzo’s and Issa Rae’s viral outfits
With a star-studded client list that includes the likes of Lizzo, Issa Rae and Mary J. Blige, celebrity stylist Jason Rembert would be a busy man even if he wasn’t running his own fashion label on the side.
The Queens native cut his teeth with internships at Elle and W magazines before dropping out of college to try his hand at styling, dressing the likes of Nicki Minaj and Rita Ora before they were household names.
Since then, he’s masterminded some truly memorable sartorial moments for famous folks looking to make broader statements with their style — think Rae’s all-black-designer wardrobe while hosting the 2018 CFDA Awards, or AOC covering Vanity Fair in a “suffragette white” power suit from Rembert’s brand, Aliétte.
“I’m grateful to be blessed with dream clients. Having a daughter, it’s important to me to champion these amazing figures; women who are killing it, who are unapologetically [themselves] and sending that elevator back down,” Rembert tells Page Six Style. “That’s what I want to be a part of.”
The fashion whiz recently partnered with Grand Marnier to create his own cocktail, the Maximalist Margarita, which mixes Grand Marnier’s blend of cognac and orange liqueur with Espolòn Blanco tequila, passion fruit purée and black salt.
“Grand Marnier is big on maximalism, and maximalism has always been part of my approach to styling, my approach to design,” Rembert explained.
“I have fun with clothing. Any client who ever comes to me, I tell her, ‘There are going to be times when everyone loves [your look], there are going to be times where everyone hates [your look]. But as long as you feel good in it, I’m doing my job.”
Below, Rembert looks back at some of his favorite looks for Lizzo, Rae, Blige, Ora and more from over the years.
Lizzo in Mary Katrantzou on the cover of Time (2019)
“That’s probably one of my favorite photos I’ve ever created. I believe Lizzo was doing a show in Texas, and we had three hours for the shoot. I just landed, didn’t know if the [clothes were] coming, had no team — it was just me.
“That’s a Mary Katrantzou dress, and it’s actually backwards! We turned it around and we put on the Manolo Blahnik shoe, and [photographer] Paolo Kudacki was like, ‘What if one foot is up and the shoe is just … there?’ It was special. It was timeless.”
Issa Rae in Pyer Moss, Sergio Hudson and custom Jason Rembert at the CFDA Fashion Awards (2018)
“Issa’s such a special person. She champions the underdog; she champions others who look like her. I really appreciate having a client who’s like that, who has that intention behind them.
“I remember the day it was announced [that she was hosting the CFDA Awards], some really amazing, huge designers reached out saying they’d love to dress her for the event. I was like, ‘I don’t want to work with any of these huge designers; I want her to wear all black designers.’ I had a meeting with Issa and her publicist, and they were like, ‘Say less. We’re in.’
“The carpet, for sure, was a huge moment. But as a whole, that [night] was probably the most powerful moment of my career.”
Solange Knowles in Erickson Beamon on “Saturday Night Live” (2016)
“Solange is special — she’s like a unicorn. She has such a voice and such a refinement and a minimalistic approach to her style.
“But when you look at this image, what I love is that through the minimalism, there’s a maximalism feel. As easy as the silhouette of the dress is, the cut chain matched with the hair and the headpiece makes it timeless. It makes it aspirational.”
Mary J. Blige in Dundas at the Super Bowl halftime show (2022)
“Mary J. Blige is ‘ghetto fabulous.’ She has this flamboyance to her style, and she loves a boot. And on a stage as huge as the Super Bowl, I wanted to stay in her world. I wanted the glitz and glam, and I wanted it to shine.
“[The look] was originally purple, and about three weeks before the Super Bowl, Mary called me and was like, ‘I think we should make an option in white.’ The white version came maybe six or seven days before the Super Bowl, and it was beautiful. There was no comparison. It was undeniable that the white was the one.
“The purple’s actually what she wore on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter [Power Stylists 2022 issue]. So it got used!”
Zayn Malik in Versace at the Met Gala (2016)
“Zayn was like, ‘I want to look like Jax [from Mortal Kombat]. I was like, ‘The character? With the metal arms? Okay!’
“[The look] was actually extremely lightweight; it looked like real metal, but it wasn’t. [At] that time, menswear wasn’t as adventurous as it is now — there’s so much versatility in menswear now, and so much fluidity — so seeing that on the carpet and then on the cover of every newspaper the next day … that was a proud moment.”
Mariah Carey in Christian Siriano on the cover of Billboard (2019)
“About six years prior, my agent was like, ‘Do you have any dream clients?’ And I was like, ‘I have one: Mariah Carey.’
“It was like a dream come true, to have only one person on your wishlist and be able to work with them, to collaborate with them. And actually, that image is also on the cover of her book [‘The Meaning of Mariah Carey’].”
Rita Ora in Donna Karan at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party (2015)
“Rita’s one person who can wear anything. This was a custom Donna Karan gown, and Rita legit went to In-N-Out Burger right before this carpet. I was like, ‘I can’t believe you can wear this amazing see-through dress that hides nothing and still eat a cheeseburger.’
“You can’t wait Spanx [under this] — you can’t wear anything.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Aliétte on the cover of Vanity Fair (2020)
“That suit was shipped to LA and went missing for four days, but had to go back to New York City [for this shoot]. I was like, ‘I’m not shipping this suit — I’m gonna fly with it.’ I flew with the suit and dropped it off myself. I’m not too good to be my own messenger; I’m not too good to sew on my own buttons.
“I wasn’t expecting to be on the cover. I wasn’t [even] expecting a credit. And I feel blessed, I feel honored. Where I grew up in Queens is a part of [AOC’s] district. And one day, I can’t wait to see AOC as president. I got to meet her at the Met Gala and tell her, ‘Thank you for wearing my suit.'”
Zendaya in Aliétte in “Malcolm & Marie” (2021)
“[Zendaya’s stylist] Law Roach is one of my best friends, and he’s like a creative genius. During the pandemic, he calls me up out of the blue and says, ‘I’m costume-designing this movie and I would love to see if you can submit sketches … but I need them today.’
“I was like, ‘Cool, got you.’ Sent over sketches, went and got swatches, overnighted the swatches, made the dress in the next two days, overnighted the dress. Then, we had to make a duplicate in two days. But we did it!
“The movie came out in January. I had a job with Issa, and she was like, ‘Did you see the movie yet?’ And I said, ‘No, but my dress is in it.’ She was like, ‘There are three stars in the movie: John David Washington, Zendaya and the dress.'”
